


Three Cheers For Budding Relationships

by kcracken



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Developing Relationship, F/M, First Love, Gen, Partial Nudity, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-03
Updated: 2013-09-24
Packaged: 2017-12-07 08:08:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/746261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcracken/pseuds/kcracken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray Toro, high school senior, realizes that maybe falling in love with one of his best friends isn't so bad. Especially when he has all of his friends backing him up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. School Sucks

School sucks.

Ask any teenager and they will tell you everything that is wrong with those seven hours they have to spend every day in a brick building filled with hate and judgment. It didn’t matter if you were a geek, jock, prep, whatever; you suffered. Parents, teachers and even most of their peers were the bane of their existence.

At this high school in suburban New Jersey, things were the same. The cliques were the same as at all schools. The students were the same. Everything was the same. 

Except maybe it wasn’t. 

Maybe, just maybe, this school was different. Maybe there were students who actually gave a shit about others. Maybe there were students who weren’t going to take shit from their peers. Maybe it was the beginnings of one of the greatest bands in history.

There were brothers, one a senior, guitarist and singer, one a sophomore, bassist. There was the friend of the brothers with the wild hair who was a fantastic guitar player, and his friend, head drummer in the band. And then there’s the new kid, the freshman transfer who loved to rock. But like every other teenager, they had their problems, and that is what this story is about.

 

Gerard Way and his little brother Mikey pulled up to the school for the first day of the year. This was Gerard’s last ever first day of high school. Mikey had two more after this one. They got out of the car and headed towards the front of the school. Their friend Ray Toro was sitting on the steps with his best friend, Bob Bryar. Ray saw them and waved. Mikey waved back and picked up his pace to get to them quicker. “Hi guys. Well this is yours and Gee’s last year. Are you ready?”

“Been ready for four years,” Bob said.

Ray laughed. “Yeah, but we’ll miss ya, Mikey. Hey, Gee. How goes it?”

Gerard had finally reached them and he tossed down what was left of the cigarette he’d lit as soon as they’d gotten out of the car and twisted his booted foot over it. “Ray, Bob,” he said in greeting. “Nine more months. Totally gonna feel like we’re having a baby.” Everyone laughed and Gerard grinned. 

“Hey, Toro! You better be ready to bring it in Jazz band this year.”

They all looked up to see a girl with short brown hair walking up the steps. “Katie, you should be telling Bob that he needs to learn to keep a steady tempo.”

“You heard him, Bryar. See you in band.” Katie waved as she disappeared through the doors.

The door closed and Bob turned to Ray. “I swear to fucking god, if you don’t ask her out this year, I will pound you into the ground.”

Ray’s eyes widened and his face turned bright red. Before he could defend himself, Gerard added, “He’s right. You’ve been in love with her for like seven years, dude.”

Mikey snorted. “I’ve only been around one year and I know that you’re totally in love with her.”

“I… I can’t,” Ray finally got out. “She’s like one of my best friends. I’ve known her for like ever.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t at least try,” Bob said.

Before Ray could respond again, the first bell rang and they headed into the building. With promises to meet in the band room at lunch, they went their separate ways. Ray decided to go to his locker, the same one he’d had for four years, and drop off his music notebook. He’d worked a lot over the summer, making notes on different songs that they always seemed to play in jazz band. He opened the door and laid the notebook on the top shelf.

Near the back of the shelf, he picked up a photo he’d had there since sophomore year. It was of Katie and him at the talent show. She had accompanied him on piano as he played his prized acoustic guitar. Despite their youth, they were quite talented and blew everyone away. It was his favorite picture of them, mainly because it was one of the few that had the two of them together. 

Placing the photo back in its place, he took a step back and closed the door. He felt a bump and heard someone fall to the floor behind him. He turned to see a young guy with a Skid Row shirt trying to scramble to his feet. He reached a hand out to help him. “Sorry, dude. You okay?”

“Yeah,” the guy said, taking his hand and pulling himself up. “Just trying to make it to homeroom before the bell. Don’t think I’m gonna make it now. I’m totally lost.”

Ray smiled. Freshman. “Where are you headed?”

“Uh, band room, I think.” He looked down at the crumpled paper in his hand. “Yeah, room one ten, says band room.”

Ray laughed. “You’re really going the wrong way. It’s back towards the front of the building. Just go up this hall, turn left at the intersection and you can’t miss it.”

“Shit. I passed that room like ten minutes ago. Thanks man.”

“No problem. I’m Ray, by the way, if you ever need anything.”

“Ray,” he said, memorizing his name as he headed back down the hall. “I’m Frank. And thanks again!” He ran and slid around the corner towards the band room.

 

Ray and Bob had trigonometry together before lunch, so they headed to the band room together. When the entered, they saw Katie sitting on Mr. Rhodes’ desk, a stand in front of her with a score resting on it. She seemed to be following along the score with a finger. They saw her headphones were in and she had her iPod in her hand. They looked at each other and grinned. She had no idea they were there. She was conducting along to the music.

Bob pointed at Ray and motioned for him to go around on the other side of the desk. They were going to sneak up on Katie and startle her. As they were about to spring their trap, Katie swung her arms out into an exaggerated three and smacked both of them in the middle of their chests. They clutched their chests, gasping for air. “What the fuck?” Bob squeaked out.

Katie jumped down from the desk and pulled out her headphones as she turned to them. She was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Thought you could sneak up on me, huh?”

Ray was bent over, trying to catch his breath. “Maybe? Fuck, how did you know?”

She pointed at the windows at the back of the room. They could see their reflection in them, which made them groan. Bob had moved around and was looking at the score she was memorizing. “Is this our competition music?” 

She nodded and waited until he saw the title, then smiled as his eyes widened. “Madison Scouts’ arrangement, including the drum line solo.”

“Ohmigodareyouserious?” Bob grabbed the score and began flipping through it to the drum line solo.

Katie let him drool over the score and turned to Ray. “Hi,” she said with a shy smile. “How was your summer?”

“Um,” he leaned against the desk, trying to look dashing. “Spent it mostly working and practicing. How about you?”

“Same.” She looked up as the door opened as Gerard and Mikey came into the band room. “Hi guys! Hey, I’ve actually got a question for you guys.”

Gerard grinned. “What’s that?”

“Well, we’re doing Malagueña…”

“Malagueña?” Ray questioned enthusiastically. He moved to grab the guitar that was sitting close by. He tested to see it was mostly in tune then started playing.

Katie watched him play, eyes bright. “Yes, that Malagueña, yet the band version.”

Bob finally was finished with the score and came to join them. “You’re playing the mellophone solo part, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, and so, I mean, I can conduct, but I’d rather be out on the field. It’s my senior year, after all.” Katie looked at Ray. “So, I was thinking… maybe you’d like to conduct? You keep time pretty well.”

“I want to,” Gee said enthusiastically. “I can keep time.”

“What about me?” Mikey asked.

“I was thinking you might like to be part of the rifle corps,” Katey said. “You’d really be good.” Mikey grinned and she turned back to Ray again. “What do you think, Ray?”

“Um…” He leaned on the guitar slightly.

Bob wrapped an arm around his shoulders and grinned. “Oh yeah, he’ll do it. Won’t you, Ray?”

“Y-yeah, I can do that.” Ray glanced at Bob with a look of ‘why are you doing this to me?’

“Cool! Can you switch your open period to the same as band? That way you can be here for rehearsals and you can hear how it’s supposed to sound and see how Mr. Rhodes conducts.” She sounded so excited.

“I already have my free period during band,” Ray admitted.

“I can change mine easy,” Gerard added.

She gave Gerard and Ray hugs, taking a bit longer with Ray’s. “You guys are life savers.” She left her arm around him as she smiled.

Bob grinned and pulled his arm off Ray, but took Ray’s arm and put it around Katie. Ray’s eyes widened as he glanced at Bob, who winked at him. He felt Katie shift closer to him, making his hand slide further along her hip. He wanted to freeze, but it kinda felt nice with her so close. 

“You have until next week. We’ve got to take this week to get settled, you know.” She still hadn’t let go of Ray, her fingers lightly brushing along the top of his jeans. 

Ray stiffened slightly. His eyes glanced down at her, then at Bob. Bob had that shit eating grin on his face that meant he was right about everything. He wanted to slap that grin right off of him, but Katie’s fingers were too fucking distracting. Anything he thought just wasn’t making it to his mouth. Now he really understood what it meant to be struck dumb.

Gerard noticed how uncomfortable Ray seemed. “Um, okay, that’s good. Yeah, um, so are you willing to work with us after school so we aren’t, like, looking like total idiots next week when we come into rehearsals?”

Her hand twitched, gripping Ray tighter. “Oh, yeah. We can definitely do that.”

“Good, good.” Gerard grinned. “So, lunch?”


	2. All's Fair in Love and War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frankie is impossibly brave, saving Katey from someone she wants nothing to do with. Ray steps in to take care of her injuries and realizes how he really feels.

Things seemed to be moving smoothly. Katey was spending several days after school a week working with Ray and Gerard with their conducting. She had made them copies of the score and put the music on their iPods. Gerard had multiple classes with Katey, so he got more time to work with her. They hadn’t worked with the band yet, as they were still learning the music, but they had watched Mr. Rhodes and Katey work with them.

Gerard was so impressed with Katey. She certainly knew her music, not only classical, but she even knew about punk, which was some of his favorite music. He was grateful with how good she was at math. They were in the same trigonometry class and she was able to help him with the tougher problems. She had this way of turning the problems into music. And then she could turn music into math. It was pretty damn amazing. Gerard was sure he was developing a crush on her, but he’d never act on it because 1) Ray would kill him and 2) he was gay.

Today was one of the days they practiced after school. Gerard met with Mikey at his locker so they could walk together. Mikey was working with the rifles that afternoon, too. They both had their headphones on as they walked down the halls towards the band room. As they approached a corner, Gerard heard loud voices ahead. He held out a hand to stop Mikey as they got to the corner and he peeked around.

“Leave me the fuck alone, Jake.”

That was definitely Katey’s voice. Gerard saw her walking backwards from the hallway to the band room into the hallway they were about to turn into. Two steps in front of her was Jake Simmons, captain of the football and basketball teams and all around asshole. Katey sounded quite upset with him.

“C’mon Kate, you know you want it. I’m sure you’ve missed me all summer.” Jake sneered at her, stepping even closer.

“You don’t get to call me that, asshole.”

“Right, because you have some girlfriend or something and that’s _her_ name for you.” He laughed.

“It’s my senior year, Jake. Fuck off.”

“No, that’s your job.” He pushed her and she stumbled backwards, slamming into the lockers. There was one locker open and Gerard watched as her head hit the corner of the door before she slid to the floor. 

Panic gripped him, but he had to help. Just as he was going to walk around the corner, he heard a voice coming from down the hall. “Hey! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” A rather short guy in jeans and a black t-shirt ran up to Jake, standing between him and Katey. The guy barely came up to the middle of Jake’s chest. He was easily a foot shorter than him.

“Get the fuck out of here, midget.” Jake tried to push the kid aside.

“Fuck you.” The kid thrust out with his fist and punched Jake in the balls. 

The other boy doubled over, tears forming in his eyes. “You’re gonna fucking die, boy. Die!” He looked up and heard footsteps running towards them, so he took off down the other hall.

Gerard and Mikey ran as soon as Jake left to check on Katey. They saw Ray running up, complete worry on his face. “What the fuck happened?” Ray asked as he checked Katey’s wounds. Her head was bleeding a lot.

Gerard was looking at the short kid in awe. “You punched Jake in the nards!”

Mikey had pulled his gym shirt out and was pressing it against Katey’s wound carefully. He heard his brother and giggled. “Wolfman’s got nards.”

Frank looked at them curiously. “Mikey, did you just quote Monster Squad?”

Gerard looked between Frank and Mikey. “You two know each other?”

“Yeah, I’m in Mikes’ class. I’m Frank.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but WOULD SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?”

They all turned to Ray, who looked quite frantic. He’d taken over from Mikey, holding the shirt. Katey was very quiet, her breathing somewhat shallow. He was leaning down, talking softly to her. Her eyes blinked open and she frowned. “My head hurts,” she said quietly.

Gerard frowned, but quickly told him what. “Uh, she was telling Jake Simmons off and he pushed her into the lockers then Frank came and punched Jake _fucking_ Simmons in the nuts!”

Ray stood and picked Katey up in his arms. “I’ve got you,” he whispered to her. Then he turned to the others. “I’m going to take her to the nurse. She should still be here.” He started heading down the hall towards the nurse’s office. She had put her arms around his neck to hold on. They all start following and Ray looked at them in confusion. 

“Hey, we want to make sure she’s okay,” Frank said, walking quickly beside him.

Ray nodded and they continued on. He took her inside and they all waited out in the hall. Gerard leaned against the wall, his fingers itching. He pulled out his cigarette pack and had his hand slapped by Mikey. “You can’t smoke in here, Gee, and you know that.”

He sighed and put the pack back up. “I know. I just… I’m nervous. That was really bad. She hit the corner of the door. And so, so much blood.”

“Hey, it’s my shirt she was bleeding all over.”

He moved over and hugged Mikey. “But you did the right thing.”

Ray came out of the door before Mikey could reply. “Is she okay?” he asked Ray instead.

Ray shrugged. “She probably has a concussion. She was unconscious for a little bit. She had no idea Frank was even there.” He turned to Frank. “By the way, thanks. That was really fucking brave.”

Frank merely shrugged. “I did what needed to be done.”

“Yeah, and you’ll probably get your ass kicked for it,” Mikey added.

Ray flopped down in the chair beside Mikey. Gerard moved over to talk softly to Frank. “Why the hell would Jake be bothering Katey?” Ray questioned softly.

“He said something about her missing him,” Mikey replied with a shrug. 

Ray’s brow furrowed with so many questions that only Katey could answer. He leaned his head back and began organizing them to ask her later. It wasn’t much longer before the nurse came out to see them. They all looked at her expectantly. “She may have a mild concussion, especially since she said she was unconscious for a brief period of time. Whoever thought to staunch the bleeding with his shirt may very well have saved her life.”

“That was Mikey,” Gerard said with a big smile. Mikey ducked his head, blushing.

Ray nudged Mikey’s shoulder, smiling. He looked up at the nurse questioningly. “Is she okay to go home?”

“Yes, but she’ll need to be driven. And someone should stay with her until her father comes home. She doesn’t need to be alone.”

“I can do that.” Ray got to his feet. “I’ll do that.”

The nurse smiled. “Thank you, Ray. Let me go talk to her a moment, then I’ll come get you to take her.” She turned and went back into the office.

Ray dug his keys out of his pocket and handed them to Gerard. “Hey, Bob is probably waiting at my car for us once he figured out we weren’t coming to practice. Tell him to take my car home and I’ll drive Katey’s car.”

“Then how will you get home?” Gerard asked as he took the keys.

He grimaced. “Um, one of you stay by your phone and I’ll call after her dad gets home.”

Gerard grinned. “I think we can do that.” He turned to look at Frank. “Do you need a ride home?”

Frank smiled brightly. “That would be great. But we’re going to wait and walk Ray and Katey out, yeah?”

“Absolutely,” Mikey said.

Ray looked at them curiously. “Seriously guys, you don’t have to.”

“We want to make sure she’s okay,” Gerard replied. “She’s our friend, too.”

Ray smiled. “You guys are really good friends.” The nurse opened the door and beckoned Ray inside. He quickly got to his feet and followed her.

He winced when he saw Katey sitting in the chair beside the nurse’s desk. She was pale and looked in pain. He moved over and stooped beside her. “I’m gonna drive you home in your car,” he said, laying a gentle hand on her knee. “And I’ll stay with you until your dad comes home.”

She glanced up at him and chewed on her lip. “Dad’s off for work,” she replied. “I’ve been home alone all week.”

 _Shit_ , Ray cursed inwardly. “Uh, um, well…” He had to think of something. “Oh! You could stay at my house. I’m sure Mom wouldn’t mind. Plus, she’s a nurse, too.”

Katey pursed her lips in thought for a moment. “I guess that will be okay.” She reached out to cover his hand with hers and squeezed it. “Thanks for showing up when you did.”

Ray smiled, but before he could say anything, the nurse returned. “I have some hydrocodone samples. You should only take one every six hours if you feel intense pain. For minor pain, you should take Tylenol. You don’t want to take aspirin or Advil, because they thin the blood so much.” She handed Ray the samples and he shoved them in his pocket. “I also suggest you take it easy and don’t come to school tomorrow. I’m sure all your friends out there can get your homework for you.”

“We will,” Ray replied. He stood and helped Katey to her feet. “Thanks for everything.”

They exited the office, Katey holding tightly onto Ray’s hand. When she saw the other boys still waiting, she was surprised. “Why?” she asked, looking at them in confusion.

“We wanted to make sure you’re okay,” Gerard said. “Especially Frankie here. He punched Jake and scared him off.”

Katey looked over at the shortest of the boys in front of her who was toeing the floor with his shoe, hands in his pockets. She took a step towards him and pulled him into a hug. “Thanks,” she said softly.

Frank was surprised by the hug, but melted into it and hugged her back. “Um, you’re welcome,” he replied.

“It was stupid,” she said as she pulled away from him. “But I am really grateful you’re stupid.” She grinned and stepped back to Ray’s side.

Frank giggled, a huge grin on his face. “Yeah, I am pretty stupid sometimes, but it’s usually in the name of good.”

Gerard’s eyes widened when Frank giggled. It was the absolutely cutest thing he’d ever heard in his life. Mikey noticed and rolled his eyes. “Hey, we better go,” Mikey said. “We need to give Bob the keys to Ray’s car and take Frank home.”

Gerard nodded and moved over to give Katey a hug. “You take it easy. I’ll get all your classwork tomorrow. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

“Thanks, Gee. And you, too, Mikey. I’ll talk to you on Monday.” They walked off and Katey waved goodbye. After they turned the corner, she dug into her pocket for her car keys. “I’m parked in front of the band room.”

Ray took her keys and nodded. “Yeah, I know.” He felt his face heat up because he just admitted that he knew exactly where she parked every day.

She smiled and took his hand again, walking slowly down the hall. They were nearing the doors when she finally spoke. “Thank you,” she said softly.

He looked over at her, squeezing her hand a little. “I didn’t do much,” he said as he opened the doors with his free hand.

“You’re doing everything.” She stepped out into the sun and squinted her eyes. She raised her other hand to shade her eyes. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“I know,” he replied, leading her towards her car. “But I want to. You mean…” He stopped himself before he went too far. This wasn’t really the time to tell her that he had a tremendous crush on her. 

“I mean what?” She looked at him as they approached her car. “What do I mean?”

He shook his head, his shaggy hair falling into his eyes. “It’s nothing.” He opened the passenger door for her after unlocking the car. 

She looked at him funny as she got in the car. This wasn’t the end, though. She was going to find out what she meant to him. She sat down carefully and pulled the seatbelt across her chest and fastened it.

Ray got into the driver’s seat and started the car. “Um, do we need to go to your house for, like, clothes or anything?”

“No, I have a bag in the trunk.” She looked at her hands in her lap.

“Okay,” he answered, glancing over at her as he put the car in reverse before pulling out of the space. 

 

The drive to his house was quiet. She didn’t bring up what he’d said again. He pulled into his driveway and turned off the car. “So, um, are you okay with this?”

She had her hand on the door handle, but turned towards him when he spoke. “Yeah. I kinda have to be. It’s either this or I go home and stay by myself, and to be honest, I don’t really want to be alone right now.” She didn’t give him time to react as she opened the door and got out. She stood at the back, waiting for him to open the trunk.

Ray got out of the car and saw her waiting. He hit the button to open the trunk then waited for her to join him. He took the bag from her and walked up to his front door. He opened it and let her go in first.

“Ray? Is that you?” his mom called out from inside as she heard the door. “I thought you had band practice.” She stopped when she saw them standing in the doorway. She noticed the bandage on Katey’s hair. “Katelyn. Are you all right?”

“Hi Mrs. Toro,” Katey said shyly. “I hope it’s okay for me to stay here tonight. I kinda fell and hit my head. I probably have a slight concussion, so I don’t need to be alone.”

“You absolutely are welcome.” She moved over to take Katey by the shoulders and lead her to the couch. “Ray will take your things up to the guest room. I will go finish up dinner and you will sit here and rest. Do you have any pain right now?”

“No ma’am,” Katey replied. “I took a hydrocodone before I left the school. The nurse gave it to me. She gave me more for just in case.”

“Good. Now you get comfortable and we’ll have dinner soon.” She glance over at her son to see him still standing there watching them. “Go on, Ray. Get upstairs and get the guest room ready for Katelyn.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ray turned and nearly ran up the stairs. He opened the door to the guest room and walked in. His mother kept the room up since he had lots of family that tended to show up unannounced. He placed Katey’s bag on the dresser. His fingers itched to open the bag, but he knew better. 

He went back down the stairs and headed into the kitchen to help his mother. As he was setting the table, his mother nudged him to get his attention. “So, what happened?”

Ray shrugged. “I don’t know. She’d already hit her head when I got there.”

She gave him a look that said she knew he wasn’t telling her the whole truth. “Uh-huh. So she hit it on a locker?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “On the corner. She was bleeding a lot and had been unconscious before I got there, but woke up soon after.”

“How do you know she was unconscious?”

“Because she woke up when I put something against her head.” He huffed at her as he opened the refrigerator to get out a couple of bottles of Coke. Thankfully, his mother had given up. After putting the drinks on the table, he went to tell Katey that dinner was ready.

 

Dinner was relatively quiet with just small talk, mostly about the marching band. Mrs. Toro had lots of interest in what Ray was doing with the band. Katey was more than willing to tell her how good he was, but also told her the funny mistakes he’d made. They laughed and Ray was embarrassed, but secretly he was glad that Katey was at least smiling.

Katey pushed her plate away and stood up. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go get my homework done. I’m rather tired.”

“Of course, dear. Just let us know if you need anything.” Mrs. Toro smiled at her.

Ray watched her leave then stood and began cleaning Katey’s and his dishes from the table. His phone beeped and he pulled it out of his pocket. It was from Bob asking what to do about his car. “Mom, I’m going to have Bob pick me up in the morning. He’s got my car.”

She looked up at him and shook her head. “Kaitlyn does not need to be alone, Ray. I’ll call in for you both, so don’t worry. Just ask Bob to get your homework and bring your car by after school.”

“You’re letting me skip?” Ray looked at her incredulously.

She smiled. “You’re looking after Katey. She will need you, Ray. You need to make sure she doesn’t try to do too much.”

“Okay.” He typed his reply to Bob and stuffed his phone back in his pocket. He finished loading the dishwasher then kissed his mom’s cheek before heading upstairs to do his homework.

He lingered by the guest room door as he passed, hearing shuffling papers. He thought about knocking and seeing if she needed anything, but stopped himself. He stood there for a moment more then headed to his bedroom.

He really didn’t have any homework. He ended up picking up his guitar and practicing. He put on his headphones so he could work on a few things he’d been playing with lately. Ray loved his guitar. He really wished he could be in a band. He wanted to be on stage playing for people, entertaining them with his music.

The next thing he knew, it was eleven. His mother hadn’t even interrupted him to tell him good night. He put up his guitar, changed into his pajama pants and headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. He washed his face and brushed his teeth. 

Looking at himself in the mirror, he wondered why Katey even looked at him. His hair was a mess, but it was always a mess. He was tall and lanky and ugly. He didn’t like himself much, so how could she? He turned towards the door and heard a thump come from the guest room. He quickly changed directions and opened the door that went directly into the guest room. “Katey? Are you okay?” 

He looked in the room to see her bending over to pick up a notebook. She was wearing a tank top and shorts. He swallowed hard as his eyes traveled over the curve of her back. She stood up and stared at him. “I… I heard a thud,” he said to explain his appearance.

“I can’t sleep,” she replied with a sigh. She clutched the notebook to her. “I was frustrated and threw this. Sorry.” Katey could feel her cheeks heating up.

“It’s okay,” he said. “Um, why can’t you sleep? Do you have pain? I can go get your medicine.”

“No. I’m tired and I really want to go to sleep, but I normally sleep on my left side and…” She motioned to the bandage on her head.

“Oh. I can go get you some more pillows or something.”

She reached out and grabbed his arm. “I don’t want more pillows.” She looked down to where her hand was latched onto his forearm. “I… I don’t want to be alone. Stay with me, please.” She looked back up in his eyes.

He looked at her hand, where it felt like it was burning into his skin. His chest clinched and he stopped breathing. He looked up when she spoke and saw the desperation in her eyes. “Sh-sure,” he said as he stepped closer to her. 

She smiled and tugged him to the bed. They laid down and she curled up against his right side. He put his arm around her and pulled her close as she lowered her head on his shoulder. “Oh!” she said softly when she realized that she wasn’t putting any pressure on the bandage. She could feel her body quickly relaxing. “Thanks, Ray,” she said as her eyes closed.

“Always,” he murmured. He could feel her breathing was immediately steady. She was asleep. He felt a bit daring as he tipped his head down to kiss the crown of hers softly. “Good night, Katey.” He closed his eyes and within moments, he joined her in blissful slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. This chapter took forever to write. I got about halfway through and suddenly a couple of other stories took the forefront. Plus, I had a little writer's block with it, too. I'm still working on multiple stories at once, but this one is flowing a bit right now. Thanks for your patience.


	3. Love Can Heal All Wounds (Hopefully)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a rather embarrassing incident for both of them, Katey and Ray realize that just maybe they can make it work between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the time it took this chapter to finish. It started easily, but the ending took forever to develop. I know where the story is going, it's just taking a while to get the words right. Hopefully you'll stick with me through to the end.

Ray woke up slowly. It was always nice to sleep in. He felt a warm weight in his arms and blinked the sleep from his eyes to see why. Oh right, he’d fallen asleep with Katey, keeping her company. But now he was curled up behind her, her body flush against his. He could see the beautiful curve of her neck and hip. He became acutely aware that his arm was draped over her and his hand was resting on her stomach.

Curse his teenage hormones!

He scrambled away from her as fast and quietly as he could. He slipped out of the bed and stood looking at her, hoping he hadn’t woken her. She didn’t move and he blew out a breath, thankful for small miracles. Very small miracles. Tiny, tiny minuscule miracles, because as he looked down at himself, he saw his pajama pants tenting rather violently. 

He ran from the room, only slowing down to close the door quietly behind him, and into his bedroom, falling face first on his bed. He was so embarrassed. Morning wood exacerbated by teenage hormones because he was sleeping with the one girl he’d ever had feelings for. He rolled over onto his back, threading his fingers in his hair and pulling. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to think this one away like he usually did around Katey. No, this one would require work.

“Goddamnit,” he muttered as he shoved his hand down the front of his pants to grip his hard on. He let out a moan he couldn’t stop as he moved his hand along his length. Clinching his eyes shut, he let images of Katey fill his mind: her beautiful smile, her wonderful laugh, just her. He let his thumb slide over the head on an upstroke and moaned yet again.

 

Katey had heard the door close and blinked the sleep from her eyes. She felt noticeably cooler than she had when she was sleeping. Ray had left and that saddened her. She reached to feel the sheets and they were still warm, so he couldn’t have left long ago. 

Deciding she needed to get up, she rose and rubbed her eyes. Bathroom. That’s what she needed. She yawned as she stood and moved into the communal bathroom. There was a door from the guest room into the bathroom and one that led to the hall. She closed the doors as she used the bathroom then washed her face.

When she opened the door to the hallway, she heard something coming from across the hall. Curious, she stepped out and listened for the noise again. It sounded like a groan. That made her worry. Was Ray okay? She crossed the hall and peeked through the doorway.

She gasped in shock at the sight before her. Ray was lying on his back, pants pushed down just past his hips, and his hand moving over his cock. She tried to will her legs to move, but she was rooted to the spot. The sounds coming from his mouth were so erotic. His eyes were closed and his head was back. He looked to be in complete bliss.

She knew he was close. The look on his face, the tenseness of his body gave him away. His hips rose from the bed and he moaned as he came. Yet the moan wasn’t just noise. It was a word. It was a name. It was _her_ name!

Her hands flew to her mouth to keep her silent as she stumbled back into the hall. She could hardly believe what she’d just seen and heard. Ray, one of her best friends since forever, just jerked off while thinking of /her/! Her mind was cluttered with thoughts as she dashed back to the guest room, trying to close the door quietly behind her, but to her it still sounded like she’d slammed it.

Ray had finally come down from his euphoria. He grabbed a pair of sweats and headed to the bathroom to clean up. He noticed the light was on in the guest room as he washed up and pulled on the sweatpants. When he was finished, he tapped on the door, guessing that Katey was awake.

Yes, Katey was awake. She was wide awake and pacing the floor, trying to rationalize everything going through her head. She nearly jumped to the ceiling when Ray knocked on the door leading to the bathroom. “Come in,” she said then winced. Was she really ready to see him? Well, she was about to find out.

Ray opened the door and looked in. Katey was standing in the middle of the room, a strange look on her face. He came further into the room as he said, “You’re awake. How are you feeling?” And the next thing he knew, he was being pushed against the wall, a warm, soft body covering him and hot, wet lips pressed against his. His shock and confusion lasted for a split second before he slid his hands around her waist to pull her closer.

Katey had no idea what she was doing. She just saw him and had to kiss him, so she was. And damn, he could kiss. She had no idea he was this good. Why had she waited so long to do this? Oh, was that his tongue? She opened her mouth and wrapped her tongue around his, deepening the kiss.

Ray moaned quietly when he felt her tongue against his. Damn, she could kiss. This was going to give him some really good jerk off material. He moved his hands to the small of her back, pulling her closer. He felt her trying to pull away, but held her tight. “Don’t,” he said softly.

She bit her lip and looked into his eyes. “I… I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ve been wanting to do that for, like, ever.”

Her face turned pink and she ducked her head shyly. “Really? Well, why didn’t you?”

It was his turn to blush. “Um, because you’re my best friend and I really don’t want to lose you.”

She looked up into his eyes. “I don’t want to lose you either.” She kissed him again, softly this time.

He held onto her, one hand sliding up under her tank to splay across her back. Her skin was warm and soft. He wanted to touch every inch of it.

She broke the kiss and looked at him again. “Do you… do you think we can do this? Like, be exclusive?”

“Exclusive?” he asked, his breath leaving him, his heart beating faster. She wanted to be exclusive with him. Holy shit, he’d never thought this day would ever happen. “I… Yes. We both want this, right?”

She nodded. “More than anything, Ray.”

He smiled brightly, bringing his hand up to gently stroke her face. “I guess that means I can call you my girlfriend now, huh?”

She laughed, smiling just as bright. “Only if I can call you my boyfriend.”

 

Katey and Ray had never felt so happy in their lives. They eventually went downstairs to have breakfast. Then they sat and watched movies curled up together, sneaking kisses every so often. Eventually they grew tired of movies. Katey found a book to read and Ray picked up his guitar, gently strumming errant chords. 

Ray glanced at his phone when it vibrated. It was sitting on the arm of the couch near his elbow. “Mom’s working a double,” he said. “She said we can order pizza if we want.”

Katey just nodded, still engrossed in the book. She was surprised when suddenly Ray’s face was between her and the book. He was grinning widely. She smiled back and leaned forward to kiss him.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door that startled both of them. Ray lost his balance, toppling to the floor. Katey snickered at him as he stood back up. “Oh, laugh at me, will ya?” Ray said smiling. “I’ll get you back.”

He moved over to the door and opened it to see Bob pushing his way through. Bob dropped Ray’s car keys into his hand as he passed. “Brought your car back,” he said as he moved over to sit on the couch beside Katey. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She nodded and he smiled, stretching his legs out in front of him.

Next was Gerard lugging a heavy backpack. “I brought homework,” he said with a sigh. “I need help from Katey.”

Ray just chuckled and stepped back to let Gerard in who was closely followed by Frank. They went over and collapsed on the floor at Katey’s feet. “Katey! I hate Trig!” Gerard whined. 

Ray watched Katey ruffle Gerard’s hair, grabbing the text book he handed her and leaned forward to talk quietly with their friend. When he turned his head back to the door, he saw Mikey standing there waiting. “Are you coming in?” he asked. “It’s not like you’re a vampire, Mikes.”

Mikey raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Maybe I am.” He grinned and walked past Ray to the recliner that was near Bob.

Ray looked over at his friends and his girlfriend(!) sitting together. They looked happy, which made him happy. He closed the door and walked back to sit beside Katey. “You guys wanna stay for pizza?”

They all look at him. “That’s an awesome idea,” Katey said. “Please stay.”

Gerard glanced at Mikey and Bob. They both nodded and Gerard smiled. “Well, it is Friday after all.”

Ray couldn’t keep from smiling, too. He picked up his phone and asked everyone what they wanted.

 

Three hours later, they were all full of pizza and sitting around watching movies. Gerard and Frank were on the floor leaning back against the couch in front of Katey. Frank had his head on Gerard’s shoulder. Katey had her feet up under her on the couch and was leaning against Ray half asleep. Mikey was asleep in the recliner and Bob was watching everyone. 

Bob was the first one to move. “I better go,” he said as he pushed himself up off the couch. “I have to open in the morning.” He nudged Gerard’s foot, getting his attention since he was his ride home.

Gerard looked up and took a moment to realize what Bob wanted. He nudged Frank off his shoulder and grabbed his bag as he stood up. “Oh, yeah, okay. I have to work tomorrow, too, so…” He reached his hand down to help Frank to his feet.

Bob turned and kicked the chair Mikey was curled up in making him nearly jump to the ceiling in shock. “What the fuck?” Mikey exclaimed as he looked around. His glasses were askew on his face and his hair was sticking out everywhere. 

Bob leaned over and ruffled his hair, straightening it a little. “We’ve gotta go,” he explained and pulled Mikey out of the chair.

Ray gently moved Katey off his shoulder. She had woken up and was already slowly moving to sit up. Ray smiled at her then got up to show his friends out. There were promises to talk tomorrow, especially since they all worked at the mall. He closed the door behind them and turned around to see Katey cleaning up the pizza boxes. “Hey, I was going to get that,” he said as he moved to take the box she had in her hand from her.

“I can help,” she said and stifled a yawn.

He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “You’re tired. Why don’t you go get ready for bed? I’ll clean this up. You need to change your dressing anyway.”

She reached a hand up to gently touch the bandage on her head. He was right. She hadn’t changed it since the middle of the afternoon. “Yeah, I guess I do. Don’t know what I’d do without you.” She smiled and kissed him softly before heading up the stairs.

 

Ray finished cleaning up the living room of pizza boxes and soda bottles. He turned off the television and headed upstairs. He was feeling a bit tired even though he hadn’t done much of anything all day. He saw the light on in the guest room, but didn’t hear any movement. Figuring Katey was already asleep he changed for bed and picked up the book he’d been reading as he settled on the bed.

About five minutes had passed when he heard a knock on his door. He looked up to see Katey standing there. “Are you okay?” he asked, sitting up and putting his book aside.

She nodded, looking awkward with her arms crossed over her chest, shifting from foot to foot nervously. “Can I… can I come in?”  
“Sure,” he said, patting the bed beside him. “Don’t want to be alone again?”

She shook her head as she moved the covers to crawl under them. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Never,” he said softly and he held the covers for her as she settled in. “I will never mind you climbing into bed with me.” He grinned, reaching to brush her hair back from her face.

She smiled back, leaning into his touch. “You can keep reading if you aren’t tired. I just can’t be alone yet.”

He gently stroked her cheek with his thumb as he looked down at her fondly. “Okay. I have to work in the morning, just so you know. Mom is off tomorrow, so she’ll be here.”

She nodded and closed her eyes, reveling in his warmth. “Maybe I’ll come visit you,” she said as she moved closer and threw her arm over his waist.

He chuckled lightly. “That would be nice,” he replied. “Maybe we can go to the movies tomorrow night?”

“That sounds good,” she murmured as she snuggled against him, her breathing quickly evening out.

Ray picked up his book, not taking his hand from her face, and went back to reading as she slept alongside him. He could really get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first foray into MCR fanfic. It was really hard to post this. I wasn't even sure if I should. Thanks to Tynemousie for encouraging me to do so. I really hope you find this enjoyable.


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